Writing for a better democracy

The Women’s March will take place on January 19, 2019 all over the world and in cities across the country.[1] But why should women march? After all, they have the vote. A record number of women have been elected to Congress: 25 of 100 senators and 102 of 435 representatives are women.[2] Of the 50 states, nine have female governors.[3] A quarter of all state representatives are women,[4] and nearly 5% of the nation’s CEOS are women.[5] Women have made real progress. Isn’t that enough?

Women outnumber men – in the population and at work.[6] But the guy next to you doing the exact same job earns almost 20% more than you. [7] Why not? He needs it for his boy toys. Those are expensive.

On the job, 38% of women are sexually harassed. [8] But men flirting with women or commenting on their breasts and legs is flattering. If they touch a woman or kiss her, what harm does that do? Doesn’t it make her feel pretty?

And because the boss is likely to be a man who has done some of the same things at work, the harasser knows nothing will happen to him. He’ll deny it, and she won’t be able to prove it. If she complains, she won’t be fired – that’s illegal. But she’ll be moved to another position or forced to leave when she is given negative performance reviews and shunned by her coworkers.

No, you don’t have time to march. You have laundry and housework to do. Who is going to do it if you don’t? If you go, you won’t have anything clean to wear to work on Monday. Besides, you need to be home to cook the meals.

Hey, and what about these accusations of anti-Semitism against some of the leaders of the Women’s March? They have denied it, but aren’t the accusations enough for you to abandon supporting equality for all women. You don’t want to be associated with that. So be happy with what you have and forget the march.